HOME          ARTICLES          APPLY

Mortgages To Fit Your Life Plan

Professional advice for working professionals

So you can live your best life with a strategy to achieve your real estate and financial goals

BOOK A MEETING
Feel Empowered

Get the advice, strategy, and mortgage to achieve your lifestyle goals.


Save Time and Money

Achieve long term savings beyond just rate.

Experience our personalized and technology driven process designed to be efficient and convenient for you.


req-estimate_100x100
Create Wealth

Take advantage of opportunities to enhance your financial future with real estate investing.

Getting a mortgage on your own with a traditional bank can COST you!

Frustration

with paying more overall costs for your mortgage beyond rate

Overwhelmed

with spending excessive time researching for options

Struggle

with making the right decision without a mortgage professional whose interest is aligned with you

Miss out

on options and expertise that the banks do not offer

We believe you deserve

You deserve a mortgage that works for you.  Finding and financing your home is a huge investment in time and money.  For most, it is the biggest financial investment they’d ever make in their lifetime.

Ther
efore, your mortgage should fit into your overall financial strategy.  Unfortunately, the mortgage industry isn’t set up that way.  Most banks and mortgage providers are very transactional, and rate focused.  We want to provide you with much more to ensure you are empowered in the process, get clarity on where you are going and be confident that your mortgage fits into your overall financial life plan.


Let us be your strategic mortgage partners

Matthew Chan
CPA, CA
Mortgage Consultant
MEET THE TEAM

Matt still remembers clearly when he bought his first home.  At the time, he was still raising a very young family and just started his new mortgage career.  The prospect of buying his first home was overwhelming and downright terrifying.


Matt also remembered the feeling when he bought his first investment property.  There was a lot of anxiety he had no idea what it meant to be a landlord, whether or not it was the right decision and time to buy and even if it was affordable.


Because of this experience and his love of real estate, Matt is dedicated to supporting others to achieve their dream of home ownership.  Whether you are buying your first home or aspire to build a real estate empire, Matt is committed to providing a sound strategy to achieve your goals.


After starting his career as a professional accountant and achieving his CPA (CA) designation in Vancouver, Matthew moved to Toronto to pursue an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto.  In 2004, Matthew moved back to Vancouver to raise his family and start his mortgage career.


Since starting his career, Matthew has served as a board member for the Canadian Mortgage Broker Association of BC and achieved Elite Hall of Fame status with Dominion Lending Centres. Matthew is also an avid Real Estate Investor and loves to share his knowledge and passion of real estate investing with others.


With his professional qualifications, educational background, industry experience as both a mortgage professional and as a real estate investor, Matthew has the skillset to advise you on your mortgage and real estate goals. 


When not in his office, Matthew enjoys spending time with family and friends, training Gracie Jiu Jitsu and pursuing personal and professional development.

Here are some nice things clients say about working with us

Let us help you find a mortgage that best fits your life plan   
Budget
Proposal

We review both the costs to complete and the regular recurring costs of home ownership with you so you feel secure and confident to move forward every step of the way.

Mortgage
Options

We listen to you and provide advice and financial education.  With access to multiple lenders and products, we can review and present options that fit with your plan.

Support You Throughout the Process

We keep you regularly updated from the start to completion.  Once you complete, we continue with regular updates to ensure we are still moving towards your goals.

We'll guide you to a solution with these 3 simple steps

Schedule A

Discovery Call

We get to know each other a bit better and learn more about what your short term and long term real estate and financial goals are. We get a high level view of what your options could look like. 

Build a Custom Mortgage Proposal and Review Strategy with You

After we review your application in more depth, we propose options and help you evaluate the pros and cons of each, You get more clarity on your strategy for your long term goals.


We Implement

The Plan

With more insight, you choose the option that best fits your life. We handle the rest. You feel confident and empowered knowing you made a great decision.

Download My Mortgage Toolbox using my personal install buttons below so you can get exclusive access to all premium features.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH MY APP:

 

  • Calculate your total cost of owning a home
  • Estimate the minimum down payment you need
  • Calculate Land transfer taxes and the available rebates
  • Calculate the maximum loan you can borrow
  • Stress test your mortgage
  • Estimate your Closing costs
  • Compare your options side by side
  • Search for the best mortgage rates
  • Email Summary reports (PDF)
  • Use my app in English, French, Spanish, Hindi and Chinese

 

ARTICLES

By Matthew Chan November 20, 2024
Deciding to list your home for sale is a big decision. And while there are many reasons you might want/need to sell, here are 3 questions you should ask yourself; and have answers to, before taking that step. What is my plan to get my property ready for sale? Assessing the value of your home is an important first step. Talking with a real estate professional will help accomplish that. They will be able to tell you what comparable properties in your area have sold for and what you can expect to sell your property for. They will also know specific market conditions and be able to help you put a plan together. But as you’re putting together that plan, here are a few discussion points to work through. A little time/money upfront might increase the final sale price. Declutter and depersonalize Minor repairs A fresh coat of interior/exterior paint New fixtures Hire a home stager or designer Exterior maintenance Professional pictures and/or virtual tour But then again, these are all just considerations; selling real estate isn’t an exact science. Current housing market conditions will shape this conversation. The best plan of action is to find a real estate professional you trust, ask a lot of questions, and listen to their advice. What are the costs associated with selling? Oftentimes it’s the simple math that can betray you. In your head, you do quick calculations; you take what you think your property will sell for and then subtract what you owe on your mortgage; the rest is profit! Well, not so fast. Costs add up when selling a home. Here is a list of costs you’ll want to consider. Real estate commissions (plus tax) Mortgage discharge fees and penalties Lawyer’s fees Utilities and property tax account settlements Hiring movers and/or storage fees Having the exact figures ahead of time allows you to make a better decision. Now, the real wildcard here is the potential mortgage penalty you might pay if you break your existing mortgage. If you need help figuring this number out, get in touch! What is my plan going forward? If you’re already considering selling your home, it would be fair to guess that you have your reasons. But as you move forward, make sure you have a plan that is free of assumptions. If you plan to move from your existing property to another property that you will be purchasing, make sure you have worked through mortgage financing ahead of time. Just because you’ve qualified for a mortgage in the past doesn’t mean you’ll qualify for a mortgage in the future. Depending on when you got your last mortgage, a lot could have changed. You’ll want to know exactly what you can qualify for before you sell your existing property. If you’d like to talk through all your options, connect anytime! It would be a pleasure to work with you and provide you with professional, unbiased advice.
By Matthew Chan November 13, 2024
A no-frills service or product is where non-essential features have been removed from the product or service to keep the price as low as possible. And while keeping costs low at the expense of non-essential features might be okay when choosing something like which grocery store to shop at, which economy car to purchase, or which budget hotel to spend the night, it’s not a good idea when considering which lender to secure mortgage financing. Here’s why. When securing mortgage financing, your goal should be to pay the least amount of money over the term. Your plan should include having provisions for unexpected life changes. Unlike the inconvenience of shopping at a store that doesn’t provide free bags, or driving a car without power windows, or staying at a hotel without any amenities, the so-called “frills” that are stripped away to provide you with the lowest rate mortgage are the very things that could significantly impact your overall cost of borrowing. Depending on the lender, a “no-frills” mortgage rate might be up to 0.20% lower than a fully-featured mortgage. And while this could potentially save you a few hundreds of dollars over a 5-year term, please understand that it could also potentially cost you thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars should you need to break your mortgage early. So if you’re considering a “no-frills” mortgage, here are a few of the drawbacks to think through: You'll pay a significantly higher penalty if you need to break your mortgage. You'll have limited pre-payment privileges. Potential limitations if you want to port your mortgage to a different property. You might be limited in your ability to refinance your mortgage (without incurring a considerable penalty). Simply put, a “no-frills” mortgage is an entirely restrictive mortgage that leaves you without any flexibility. There are many reasons you might need to keep your options open. You might need to break your term because of a job loss or marital breakdown, or maybe you decide to take a new job across the country, or you need to buy a property to accommodate your growing family. Life is unpredictable; flexibility matters. So why do banks offer a no-frills mortgage anyway? Well, when you deal with a single bank or financial institution, it’s the banker’s job to make as much money from you as possible, even if that means locking you into a very restrictive mortgage product by offering a rock bottom rate. Banks know that 2 out of 3 people break their mortgage within three years (33 months). However, when you seek the expert advice of an independent mortgage professional, you can expect to see mortgage options from several institutions showcasing mortgage products best suited for your needs. We have your best interest in mind and will help you through the entire process. A mortgage is so much more than just the lowest rate. If you have any questions about this, or if you’d like to discuss anything else mortgage-related, please get in touch. Working with you would be a pleasure!
By Matthew Chan November 6, 2024
There is no doubt about it, buying a home can be an emotional experience. Especially in a competitive housing market where you feel compelled to bid over the asking price to have a shot at getting into the market. Buying a home is a game of balancing needs and wants while being honest with yourself about those very needs and wants. It’s hard to get it right, figuring out what’s negotiable and what isn’t, what you can live with and what you can’t live without. Finding that balance between what makes sense in your head and what feels right in your heart is challenging. And the further you are in the process, the more desperate you may feel. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when shopping for a property is to fall in love with something you can’t afford. Doing this almost certainly guarantees that nothing else will compare, and you will inevitably find yourself “settling” for something that is actually quite nice. Something that would have been perfect had you not already fallen in love with something out of your price range. So before you ever look at a property, you should know exactly what you can qualify for so that you can shop within a set price range and you won’t be disappointed. Protect yourself with a mortgage pre-approval. A pre-approval does a few things It will outline your buying power. You will be able to shop with confidence, knowing exactly how much you can spend. It will uncover any issues that might arise in qualifying for a mortgage, for example, mistakes on your credit bureau. It will outline the necessary supporting documentation required to get a mortgage so you can be prepared. It will secure a rate for 30 to 120 days, depending on your mortgage product. It will save your heart from the pain of falling in love with something you can’t afford. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with looking at all types of property and getting a good handle on the market; however, a pre-approval will protect you from believing you can qualify for more than you can actually afford. Get a pre-approval before you start shopping; your heart will thank you. If you’d like to walk through your financial situation and get pre-approved for a mortgage, let’s talk. It would be a pleasure to work with you!

We keep our articles up to date so you can stay informed.

MORE ARTICLES
Share by: